Flowers for you, in a Bustelo Vase...

 

I saw these flowers in the market, and they made me think of you...  

 

Reader, like with any relationship where you interact with a person on a regular basis, you've grown on me.  I even miss you when you're not there sometimes, or I wonder what you would think about this and that as I go about my day.  

So these flowers are for you, as a thank you for being in my thoughts, and part of my inspiration.  I look forward to chatting with you on the evenings now.  And now you've even begun calling me or emailing me questions or comments, and it's made our relationship that much more interactive.  I'm really enjoying your company...

What's up with the Bustelo "vase"?  You're the second person to ask me that! 

My ex-husband stopped by today to give our baby girl a kiss and wish her a great first day of school.  At one point he looks at the vase and chuckles asking, "What the heck is that"?  

Working by the sink, I don't even have to look up.  I know him, I knew he was referring to the flowers and Bustelo make-shift vase.  

So I answer, "I was going for a rustic-Latino-Caribbean look".  There is a pause, followed by, "Hmmmm..." which I know means, "Cool idea."  After which he says, "I think I'm gonna try that."

I  have a great relationship with my ex-husband.  We know each other like no one else knows us, have been in our lives for longer than we even remember and we co-parent extremely well.  

Don't get me wrong, like with all family and close friends we get on each others' nerves sometimes, and there have been difficult moments and transitions in the past.  What makes it work is that we gave each other time to heal after the marriage ended, and we have a high level of respect for each other.  Our first priority is our kids. 

My daughter loves to have the occasional dinner with Mom & Dad.  It brings a certain balance to her life.  I know because I was once that kid.  My parents divorced when I was 5 and remarried different people when I was 7.  I've never seen that as a negative.  I consider myself fortunate.  I have 2 Dads that love me and have always been there for me.  

I grew up with everyone getting along and always taking part in my life.  Everyone treated each other with respect, and as far as they saw it, I was their priority.  

When I got married, both of my Dads walked me down the aisle.  How could I choose?  They were both magnificent fathers in their own special ways.  They both mean the world to me, and to my kids, they are both Grandpas.  This is the example that my ex-husband and I are working toward.  And it works!

I had taken today off to go run errands with my daughter.  We have been done with back-to-school shopping for some time, but today we had to tie up loose ends and pick up all her favorite menu items for school lunches.

While at the market, I started to feel congested, sneezing up a storm and very achy.  This is not good timing!  Tomorrow is such an important day for my little one and I have to be on my game.  To top it all off, with all the running around, I forgot to defrost meat for dinner.  I have so much already prepared at home, it would have been a waste to start all over.  With some quick thinking, I decided on a small pack of ground turkey; easy, quick and inexpensive.

I looked at my fridge when I got home, and was thankful that I didn't buy more food than what I needed.  I like to work with what is there.  It challenges me to be more creative than I would normally have to be. 

Yesterday, I made a warm eggplant, onion & tomato salad and had some left over.  I also had left over white rice.  How was I going to pair that up with the ground turkey?  You guessed it!  Tacos!

I still had lots to do at home, plus I had to cook dinner, make & pack a nutritious and delicious school lunch for tomorrow.  So here's what I did tonight...

At the same time that I had the ground turkey cooking, I had the rice and eggplant salad in the microwave warming up, and tortillas in the oven warming up as well.

 Low Fat Tacos, with a San Juan Flair

Now remember that I have my prep work already done.  Still, I did peppers today to show you how. 

1. Heat skillet to medium-high.  Drizzle with the garlic and sofrito-infused olive oil that we made yesterday.
2. Throw in a handful of the pre-sliced celery that we made in the food processor this weekend.  The slices are nice and thin so it won't overpower your dish.
3. Add in some chopped onions and peppers.
4. Add in a can of fire-roasted red peppers.
5. Add in your ground turkey
6. Add in one table spoon of Sofrito, Sazon & Adobo.  Mix through the meat thoroughly.
7. Top with some fresh cilantro.

Do you smell that?  The Sofrito is that special touch that works through any ground meat and makes that dish sing!

Warm some corn tortillas then garnish with some shredded cheese.

Instead of the traditional lettuce & tomato; I sliced cucumbers, purple onion and tomato and marinated that in some olive oil, lime & salt and pepper.

Since I already had my pre-cut vegetables out, I decided to also start dinner for tomorrow.  

 Carne [de res] Guisada

Stewed Beef

1. In the slow-cooker, I added some meat for beef stew, drizzled in my garlic-sofrito infused olive oil
2. Directly onto the meat, I added Sazon, Adobo, Pepper and Oregano powder.
3. I added 4 whole garlic cloves
4. 1 can of tomato paste
5. 4 small potatoes... you can add in more depending on how much you're cooking.
6. Fresh carrots
7. Add in your pre-cut onions & peppers
8. One table spoon of Sofrito
9. Goya pitted olives, just a few go a long way
10. Lastly, add in about half a cup of red cooking wine

Turn on your slow-cooker on low... your house is going to smell amazing when you wake up in the morning.  You may even be tempted to take some for lunch tomorrow!  Speaking of which, Lunch!

Because I always clean as I cook, all we have to do after dinner is clear & wipe the table and load the dishwasher.  I knew I was going to be too tired to make lunches tonight and with this cold coming on, maybe even in the morning.  

Oh, who am I kidding?  I'm not any good to anyone in the morning, especially myself.  I don't mentally wake up until 11am and at least 3 cups of strong black coffee.  

Making my daughter's lunch in the morning, always involves me rushing.  That's not how I want to do this.  For her, and for me, I need for this to be a labor of love where only the most delicious and nutritious makes it into her lunch bag! So, I made her lunch, and even set the coffee maker's timer for 6am sharp.  

Dinner is now served!

I highly recommend multi-tasking in the kitchen.  I love to be in my kitchen, but once it's closed for the night, it's closed.   The sooner I close my kitchen, the sooner I open my laptop and come spend time with you, Reader.  

Muy Buen Provecho!